HIIT Me With Your Best Shot

I. Love. Fitness. Trends. As a trainer, I look forward to new fitness classes the same way I look forward to Christmas morning! They are exhilarating, challenging, and sometimes you don’t know what to expect. I’ve tried everything from Barre to Lithe Method to Animal Flow and enjoyed every one but my favorite way to work out hands-down is High Intensity Interval Training (aka HIIT).

HIIT alternates between short intense periods of activity and periods of less intense activity or complete rest. It’s great if you’re short on time but need a killer workout. Research shows that you can achieve more progress in 15 minutes of interval training (if you do it three times a week) than if you were to jog or run for an hour. Yup, you read it right — only 15 minutes!

Keep in mind: this is definitely not the type of workout you can do while reading or talking to a friend — it’s short and will push your body to its limit. With HIIT workouts, the intensity of each exercise speeds up your body’s repair-cycle so you’ll burn more fat and calories in the hours following your workout than you would after an hour of cardio!

You don’t need any equipment to do a HIIT workout, tons of great exercises only require the weight of your body. Here is one of my signature body weight circuits (allow 15 minutes to complete as many rounds as you can):

Burpees with plyometric pushups – 10 reps.

One legged squats – 5 reps per leg.

Dolphin plank to high plank – starting on your forearms in low plank, place your left hand then right onto the floor to come up into high plank, then place your left then right forearm on the ground to return to starting position. Alternate sides; 5 reps on each side, 10 total.

Want to find a HIIT class near you? Try one of Uplift’s Strength classes, The Fhitting Room or Exceed Physical Culture, all available on the Passport. These classes will really push you to the next level and leave you feeling exhausted!

This was written by Classtivity blogger Marisa Morgan. Marisa is an NYC-based personal trainer, fitness expert and consultant.